DH wants a luxury beach holiday

[Goingawayistricky]

I need advice please.
We both work in jobs with restricted leave (I’m school he’s self employed but travel s abroad with his job). Therefore I am the master of short stay, quirky or last minute deals.
DH said last night he fancies going to someone “lovely”. St Kitts and Nevis appealed to him. He wants white beaches, blue sea and rum. He might also like villas over the sea apparently.

I am out of my comfort zone with this sort of holiday. Most of the online suggestions seem to be aimed at the US. I love America but less fond of Americans on holiday.

Where do I start? August is free. I don’t mind it might be low season due to weather.

Can anyone recommend anything/ anywhere?

I’m not sure rainforest type places appeal to me ( been to beaches in Brazil and not keen). Maldives sounds a bit weird like a Disney beach holiday.

Sounds like you are really not very keen on a beach holiday OP? You didn’t like Brazil beaches (why?) and Maldives sounds too Disney? I promise it is nothing like Disney! Yes it is a resort holiday, but sounds like that’s what your Dh wants?

What kind of holiday do you want? What have you enjoyed previously ?
Maybe you would be best off somewhere with a beach but also sightseeing/ day trips?

August is peak season in Europe as I’m sure you know. It’s off peak in most tropical places due to weather but the weather does matter… I don’t think your DH will get what he’s picturing if it’s grey and rainy.

How long have you got to travel and what is budget? If you have 2+ weeks then I would look at Indonesia but it’s a hell of a journey.

Or for a shorter trip maybe a quieter Greek island, somewhere a little harder to get to helps avoid the crowds and there are some lovely little hotels.

Have a look at i-escape, these are small places, not mega resorts, something might appeal to you both?

You say you're master of the short stay.... are you looking to do this as a short stay holiday? This is not my type of holiday, but a short stay to the Carribean does not sound very relaxing from the UK.

How about Mauritius? It will be winter, and wet, but it is a stunning and interesting country with lots to do and perfect beaches. Lots of different price points with hotels, and a tiny time difference.

We stayed at four seasons koh samui recently. It's not a villa over the water, but it's a private villa with your own pool. The entire resort was lovely and the service was top notch.

August isn’t a great time to go to any of those kind of places - could you go Feb half term instead ? Or Christmas ?

Christmas, Feb half term or Easter is much better for the Caribbean. Look at BA holidays.
In August, I would always stick to Europe for hot weather, can't be beaten IMO! Greek islands? Croatia / Slovenia coastline?

It's hurricane season in the Caribbean in August so I would look elsewhere unless you can go at Christmas when it will be glorious

I'm also like you as my husband is self employed and won't take much time off so we are usually on a 9-day maximum if I can tag it onto a bank holiday. We did Mauritius in August a few years ago. Booked through Tui so it was nice and easy. The only thing was it isn't boiling hot at that time of the year and the south of the island can be a bit unsettled. The beaches were stunning though and we got to know a taxi driver who would take us on days out to the capital city and to some of the nature spots. I would highly recommend.

If your husband is looking for a nice beach holiday, I absolutely adore Bermuda! Is it so beautiful and the pink sandy beaches are stunning. The weather is quite typical of a Caribbean holiday during our summer months but the rain comes and goes pretty quickly. It is quite expensive there but in my opinion, worth the money. We stayed in a villa where the group of villas (6 in total) had their own private beach. It was gorgeous.

uh was the dig at Americans really needed? I can’t imagine someone saying love China not so fond of the Chinese. Love Kenya not so fond of the Kenyans!

Malaysia is great as is Thailand - both have good mix of beaches and sightseeing. It's hurricane season in Caribbean so I'd avoid that. Bermuda is lovely but incredibly expensive for flights and very crowded and not a lot to see.

Mexico could be an option esp pacific coast (Atlantic coast might get caught with hurricanes). Also Costa Rica.

Sri Lanka has sone great beaches and lots to see as well.

We need to know budget and where you can fly from to give more advice.

Thanks for the alternatives! I shall look up Bermuda, Mauritius and Koh Samui.

@Changeusername8 I did say “on holiday” I used to live in Florida hence not being to concerned about August weather. Out of context the loudness grates. I am not a fan of Brits abroad either but that one seems to be ok to say ,

Sardinia? Croatia? Gorgeous beaches there plus you'll be there in no time so holiday starts pretty much straight away as opposed to long haul. Presumably he wants heat to enjoy the beach so I'd discount anywhere where it might be typical beach but rainy season.

It sounds like your DH wants a really nice beach holiday which you can't have if it's raining! If it has to be August then I'd look at really upmarket resorts on Greek islands or Spain. Ikos maybe? You get the benefit of it not being long haul and he gets the benefit of fabulous beaches & accommodation (and you both get the benefit of amazing weather!)

https://ikosresorts.com/ ikosresorts.com/]]]]

The “ABC” Caribbean islands re further south so outside the hurricane belt and have the same weather all year round, but because august is the low season for the Caribbean generally, it’s good value. We went to Aruba in august and loved it - great weather, warm seas, beaches like icing sugar. The island is prosperous, clean and safe. There are lots of water sports things to do and the island itself is interesting for some excursions.

I think you need to look at one of those holiday weather websites to see if you are happy with the weather in August

the Maldives sint Disney at all. If you like short stays why don’t you think about a two centre break. We did 5 nights in Dubai and 5 in the Maldives a few years ago. Although I wouldn’t go back to Dubai, I loved the Maldives. We are looking at Singapore and Vietnam for next year. Speak to a travel agent who can recommend two beach type holidays that fit the requirements of blue skies, white beaches

My FiL worked in Saint Lucia for a couple of years and so we’ve been to several of the Windwards as well as Tobago and Barbados over the years (and Cuba, but that is very different). Given the school holiday constraints I would look to visit late Easter or early in Xmas holidays as I’m not a fan of the weather after about June-early November. It used to be the case that the (former) Commonwealth islands were cheaper and easier to get to.

We’ve also been to Mauritius a few times, which is surprisingly easy to do for a shortish holiday as the time difference is minimal and many of the flights are overnight. We tend to get direct flights from London or Paris to avoid having to change planes in Dubai in the middle of the night (it probably wouldn’t bother me now that DD is perfectly capable of sorting herself out). I think we might have gone for 6 nights at Whitsun (plus overnight flights) and longer in July. We always stay on the west/northwest coast. We’ve encountered some heavy prolonged rain up in the rainforest and Hindu pilgrimage place, but down on the coast it stays pretty dry, with the occasional shower. Temperature-wise it is probably mid-20’s in the shade. You might want jumper/stole if dining outside at night in a seabreeze.

I thought the entire point of those breaks is that you do them in February or so, when the weather here is miserable and there is fabulous?

Rhodes!!!!!! The sea is absolutely gorgeous with clear water and there is soooo much to see and do. It's our favourite European beach holiday place.

We went to Antigua in October half-term. Only one rainy day, lovely beaches.

Indeed but they put the prices up over Christmas and New Year. We’ve been in May and June and the weather’s been fab. Barbados is amazing

Cabo Verde? São Tomé e Príncipe?

Azores too but it would be a bit wasted if he’s not keen on hiking.

I spent three weeks in Thailand in August. Bangkok and then two weeks on the island of Phuket.

Weather was great. Some rain but over with and dry within 20 minutes. Plenty of time in the beach.